


In Hot Water

by glowingGalaxies



Series: Regrow - A Persona 4 Arcana Swap AU [4]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: (it's not going to get any better for Souji in that regard), Alternate Universe - Arcana Swap (Persona Series), Gen, New Game Plus, but with a twist!, chie yukiko and saki are also present but don't have big roles so I didn't want to tag them, the gang trying to go through yosuke's dungeon- wait something about that doesn't sound quite right, timeline differences and the stress it causes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26781196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowingGalaxies/pseuds/glowingGalaxies
Summary: Getting through Yosuke's dungeon was one thing, but as Souji's realizing, getting him to accept his Shadow will be another entirely. Everything in this timeline is so different, what can he even count on anymore?... Also, why is Yosuke's Shadow a pirate this time?
Series: Regrow - A Persona 4 Arcana Swap AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935223
Comments: 7
Kudos: 12





	In Hot Water

The pirate ship- _Yosuke’s_ pirate ship- had been… a bit of a wake up call so far, and not just because he’d stumbled into the water surrounding it when they’d first found it. His friends were still fundamentally the Investigation Team he’d known, but… this timeline was definitely different, and he couldn’t count on his memories from last time to make this easy.

They’d already made more trips than he expected, with both Kanji _and_ Chie’s Shadows showing up. In retrospect, that was probably his own fault, from having Saki bring all three of them in with her.

But in any case, they were here now, and they already had five persona users on the team. They were more than equipped to help Yosuke with his Shadow… though he was a bit worried it’d be harder to convince his partner to accept it with a whole group of people present. He couldn’t even count on the Shadow saying the same things- though he’d be surprised after the last two encounters if it was _completely_ different- but hopefully he still knew Yosuke well enough to improvise.

They’d ran into him twice before, but as usual he hadn’t really given away what the problem was as he was sending shadows after them. The most they’d gotten was something about “dragging them down with him”, and some ambient voices that Souji was pretty sure he’d picked out the word “disappointment” from a couple times.

Now as they got deeper, and closer to the captain’s quarters where his Shadow was supposed to be, the rather regal interior of the ship had become more waterlogged and decayed, and partially flooded in several places. No one was enjoying wading through the saltwater, but as he was a cat now, Souji was pretty sure he was having the worst time of anyone. It didn’t help that he was so much shorter now, either, and what only came up to the other’s torsos had him practically swimming.

But he wasn’t going to let that stop him, as unpleasant as it was, and they pushed onward, finally reaching a door that, based on his now-heightened sense of smell, Yosuke’s Shadow _had_ to be behind. It certainly looked like it had detailed, beautiful woodwork once, though now it was rotting and covered in barnacles that looked like they should’ve been taken care of long ago.

“Everyone ready?” He asks, then immediately regrets it because he’s supposed to be the team mascot now, not the leader, so Yukiko should really be the one asking. But they nod, faces set in the sort of grim determination he’d expect now that they know what a Shadow confrontation entails, and Yukiko’s at least the one to push open the door.

The room’s in much the same state as the door- there’s water flooding half of it, with waterlogged furniture that was probably originally regal now falling apart. There’s treasure scattered around the room, though most of it looks rusted and worn, and underneath it parts of a tattered rug are visible. Shadow Yosuke is sitting atop a pile of the treasure, barely still dry, as the real Yosuke sits in the shallower part of the water looking totally closed off, knees pulled against his chest and eyes screwed shut.

Souji immediately feels guilty that Yosuke’s in this situation; maybe he could’ve done something, said something to Yukiko, stopped this from happening. But it’s replaced with confusion as he realizes Yosuke- among other differences in appearance that he’d expect- isn’t wearing his headphones. Those feel like such an integral part of him. He couldn’t be… _that_ different, right?

He’s pulled out of his thoughts as Shadow Yosuke notices them, and that familiar, lazy but malicious grin slides onto its face. It stands up, and saunters over to them, looking for the part like a genuine pirate captain. The real Yosuke follows the movement, and his eyes widen in horror as he sees them.

“So, you landlubbers really made it this far,” Shadow Yosuke says, talking in a normal- if anything bordering on flat and apathetic- tone despite the word choice. He crosses his arms. “Doesn’t really matter. No one’s saving this ship now.”

Kanji can’t seem to help himself from responding, even knowing how Shadows work. “Then why not abandon ship? Ain’t that what you’re supposed to do?”

That seems to be exactly the question the Shadow’s expecting. “Ah, but you see, a captain should always go down with the ship. The first mate,” he says, evidently referring to Kanji, reminding Souji they’re best friends in this timeline, “and the rest of the crew can go on, but the only _honorable_ thing for me to do is stay behind. This ship is my home, and it will be my watery grave.”

Yosuke finally seems to have gotten himself moving, and from the barely restrained look of panic on his face, Souji’s guessing he’s going to feign ignorance about the meaning behind the Shadow’s words. He jogs up to them, and not-so-subtly puts himself between the Shadow and the Investigation Team.

“Guys, I have been having the _worst_ week. I swear I have no idea who this guy is, even though he looks like me. Can we just get going and forget about this? Do you know the way out??”

“Well, yeah, but-” Chie’s cut off as the Shadow laughs, and puts a hand on Yosuke’s shoulder.

“You can’t just run away. You’re stuck here, remember? You’re responsible for this disaster now, and you’ll be stuck here until you die.”

Yosuke pales. “I- I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never seen this crazy- pirate ship?! Or whatever it is?? In my life!”

“It won’t matter. You can’t get away from Inaba. From your parents. From the _Inn_. You hate it here, but you don’t care, and this,” the Shadow gestures to the room around them, “is the result. Maybe if you just tried to _do_ something about it, but why bother? You’re going to be a disappointment and a failure, and we both know it.”

“Shut up! You’re just stuck on this stupid ship, you don’t know anything about me.”

Souji winces; he can tell where this is going to go from here.

“Don’t I? You’re doomed to be running the Inn for the rest of your life, no matter how badly you crash and burn, because your parents won’t let you do anything else. You try _so hard_ to be what they want you to be, to be dignified and uphold the Hanamura name, but you hate it, and you hate that that’s all you’ll ever get to be. You’ve decided you’re marooned here, but you’ve never even _tried_ to weigh anchor, or do anything about it. Am I wrong?”

“Y-yeah, of _course_ that’s wrong!! I-” Yosuke struggles with a comeback, while the embarrassment and panic on his face contradict his words. “The Inn is my family legacy, of course I love it! I don’t need anything outside of my life in Inaba!”

There’s another pause, and Yosuke is clearly trying without much luck to compose himself. The Shadow watches in amusement.

“Yosuke-senpai, wait-” Kanji tries, though Souji’s already accepted there’s no getting out of the fight, especially with Yosuke.

“No, Kanji, c’mon.” Yosuke cuts him off, with a nervous glance towards the Investigation Team, then looks back to his Shadow. “You’re _completely_ off the mark, because you’re _clearly_ not me,” Yosuke says, voice slightly less shaky just so everyone present can perfectly hear him say it.

The Shadow grins, and Souji summons Izanagi.

The fight doesn’t end up being that much different from the original, though Jiraiya’s Shadow form looks more like a pirate than a ninja, which is a bit strange but on-par with everything else Souji’s seen so far. Yukiko tries to have him switch out with Chie as soon as Jiraiya starts throwing Garu spells at them, which Souji acknowledges is a good tactical consideration, especially when they already have her and Kanji who can throw Zio skills right back without the wind weakness.

At the same time, though, this is _Yosuke’s_ Shadow they’re fighting, and if anyone’s going to be there for his partner, even if they’re not partners in this timeline, it’s him.

Finally, Jiraiya goes down, and Souji’s the first to help Yosuke up. He tries not to take it personally when Yosuke gives him a strange look and doesn’t take his paw right away. Kanji joins them after a moment, and offers support as they guide Yosuke over to his weakened Shadow.

“It’s okay,” Chie says. “We all had to go through this to get our Personas. We get it.”

“Yosuke-senpai, you’ve gotta accept it, or we’re going to have to fight it again,” Kanji adds firmly, as Yosuke still looks apprehensive.

He stares at the Shadow for another moment, hands balled into fists at his side. Souji catches Yosuke glancing at Yukiko and himself- it’s like he expected. Even in this timeline, Yosuke cares too much about what other people think, especially people he doesn’t know as well. And as much as it pains him, he’s not sure there’s anything he can say to make this easier. _He_ might be able to read Yosuke like a book, but Yosuke has no idea who he is.

Saki gives him a thumbs up. “You’ve got this, Hana-chan. Don’t worry about them.”

That, at least, gets a weak smile out of Yosuke, and he finally takes the last few steps up to his Shadow.

“You’re… right. I hate it here, and I’m sick of the Inn. I haven’t even been trying to take responsibility for it like my parents tell me to, but I haven’t told them I want to do something else with my life either. I’ve just been letting everything happen, and I’d accepted I was just going to let everyone down while blaming them for it.”

He takes a deep breath.

“Everything you said was true… if sometimes weirdly pirate-themed… because you’re me and I’m you.”

It’s like a collective weight is lifted from the Investigation Team’s shoulders as he says those familiar words, and his Shadow fades into a sort of pirate Jiraiya as Yosuke accepts his tarot card. As soon as it vanishes, Yosuke collapses on the ground.

“I never… want to talk about this… _again_.”

They laugh as Kanji picks him up and Yukiko uses a Goho-M, and even with the circumstances, it feels like it used to for a moment. Souji gets that feeling of being _home_.


End file.
